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Wizards Of The Coast Pokémon cards
The Wizards Of The Coast pokémon cards are a series of official trading card game playing cards that depict one of every species of the 890 pokémon creatures themselves, these cards represent the pokémon as they are in the games. The artwork for the cards is provided by numerous artists, and there is only space on half of the card for a picture. The most common type of pokémon card is a basic pokémon, but others include baby pokémon, stage 1 pokémon, stage 2 pokémon, fossil-restored pokémon, and legendary pokémon. Each card has different rarities and they consist of circle symbol "common" basic and unevolved pokémon cards, diamond symbol "uncommon" evolved and unevolved pokémon cards, and star symbol "rare" holographic foil evolved and legendary pokémon cards. The cards can be collected in various kinds of ways: a 2-player starter deck with two 30-card decks that serves as an introduction to the game, a 1-player pre-constructed theme deck with one 60-card deck which is more powerful but also requires more thinking, a small booster package of 11 pseudo-randomized cards which make your deck even more powerful, or go to a card/comic shop that sells extensive numbers of single individual pokémon cards, where you may have to pay twenty-five cents for a common card, seventy-five cents for an uncommon card, $3-$5 for a rare card, and $10+ for a holofoil card. Card/comic shops should be visited with caution, however, as they can be greedy by selling $10 theme decks for $25, as well as sell only the rarest cards, where the holofoil "Charizard" is over $35. But, a really cool shop will sell everything for 10% off. Types of pokémon cards Baby - They are pre-evolutions that are considered one stage lower than basic pokémon, since they are a special kind of basic pokémon that have low HP but attack with strange and sometimes very powerful effects. However, they are not required to play their evolved forms. Basic - A pokémon that does not evolve from any other, except for baby pokémon, so they can be played directly onto the bench. Stage 1 - A pokémon which has evolved from a basic pokémon Stage 2 - A pokémon which has evolved from a stage 1 pokémon Dark - Pokémon that are corrupted versions of their normal species due to their allegiance with the villainous Team Rocket Light - Pokémon that are content with themselves in a serene environment, due to the caring nature of their trainers Shining - Alternate color variations of a basic pokémon Crystal - The e-series equivalents to the shining pokémon, they are not alternately colored Star - Any type of pokémon that depicts its alternate color variation Owner's - An owner's pokémon is a pokémon that has a trainer's name as part of its own name List of card sets Base Set - The original core release of cards that officially introduced the card game to the United States, it has a total of 102 cards. The set includes only pokémon from the original 150, such as Charizard, Blastoise, Venusaur, and Pikachu. The rare error "shadowless" 1st edition Base Set holographic starter pokémon cards that are noticeably missing a shadow to the right of the image, are a design choice that was changed very early on in production. This means each of them are an extra rare and pretty valuable piece of paper/cardboard originally meant to be a mere trading card game, since they are the most coveted and hard to come by through trading because of their sheer popularity. There are also basic energy cards for fighting, fire, grass, lightning, psychic and water, along with a special energy card: double colorless energy. There are four main theme decks based on four different strategies: offensive, defensive, tactic, and speed, and also a 2-player starter set that contains two half-sized decks and a play mat with no intended strategy. Jungle - The first expansion of new cards, it has a total of 64 cards. All cards from the Jungle set have a little symbol to the bottom-right of the card image: it looks like a lily pad, but it's the top of a palm tree. The set added new pokémon and one trainer to the bunch, and started the trend of having alternate holographic and non-holographic editions of rare cards, effectively doubling the number of rares in the set. Some of the cards featured are Pikachu, Gloom, and Victreebel. Unlike base, it had 2 pre-constructed decks. The rarest basic pokémon card in the "1st edition" jungle set is a 1st edition stamped promotional "Ivy Pikachu" that features a gold foil Pikachu tail stamp opposite the promo symbol, which was mistakenly printed with the set. "Ivy Pikachu" is the only promotional card of any sort to have a 1st edition release. "Ivy Pikachu" with yellow cheeks and not orange ones can be sold for $15, since it is worth a rare hologram card like Gyarados! Fossil - The third expansion of cards, it has 62 cards. All cards from the Fossil set have a bony-foot symbol. Base Set 2 - A reprint set of cards that is a combination of Jungle and Base Set, it basically contains a consolidation of most of the cards from both sets, although some cards are missing. There are new boosters, new theme decks, and a special CD-ROM and video that help teach you how to play the game. Team Rocket - An expansion set of 82 new cards that is themed around the exploits of Team Rocket, including the trio of Rockets known as Jessie, James, and Meowth, who relentlessly follow the protagonists in the anime, as the pokémon they train become corrupted versions of their normal species. This is also the first set to include one special card that is exclusive to the English-language version as part of a promotion: an American-only Dark Raichu. Dark Raichu is the rarest card, because it is a "secret" card that is numbered above the regular set number: "83/82". There are boosters and two kinds of theme decks available. Team Rocket cards can be identified by a bold "R" symbol. Gym Heroes - An expansion that is focused solely on cards that feature pokémon belonging to each of the first four Kanto gym leaders: Brock, Misty, Lt. Surge, and Erika. This is the first set to have owner's pokémon, and each of their pokémon reflect their favorite Pokémon types, as well as pokémon they have been seen carrying in the TV show. Brock specializes in the rock-type, so a lot of his pokémon are rock-types, but in the anime, he also has carried a Vulpix, a fire-type, which is also included in this set. Owner's pokémon must be evolved from a pokémon of the same owner, such as Misty's Tentacool. There are 132 different cards, and the holographic cards are distinct from the non-holographic rares. Its symbol is an amphitheatre with a black stage and white tiers. Gym Challenge - An extension of the previous expansion that focuses primarily on cards that feature pokémon belonging to each of the remaining four Kanto gym leaders: Koga, Sabrina, Blaine, and Giovanni. There are 132 different cards, and the holographic cards are distinct from the non-holographic rares. Its expansion symbol is an amphitheatre and black tiers, the inverse of the Gym Heroes symbol. Neo Genesis - The first expansion to feature pokémon from Johto, as the Neo cards include pokémon found in Pokémon Gold and Silver, including pre-evolutions and two new types of pokémon: dark and steel, each with their own energy cards. Two cards from this set were banned from tournament play: Sneasel and Slowking. Neo Discovery - An expansion which primarily revolves around the theme of the ruins of Alph and Unown, since it includes some of the Unown pokémon from the third pokémon movie. The Unown are a pokémon themed on the English alphabet, and this set introduced nine of these pokémon into the card game. This set premieres many second-generation pokémon into the card game, such as Smeargle, Politoed, and Wobbuffet. Its symbol is a Mayan temple with the architectural structure of the ruins being based on Central or South American origin. In a way, this makes it a counterpart to the Jungle set, which introduced another third of the original 150 pokémon. Neo Revelation - A set that included the last of the Johto pokémon which had not yet become cards, it completed transferring all of them into card forms. As of the release of this set, there were at least one card of each of the 251 pokémon, including the elusive Celebi. This set finishes the second generation with pokémon like Porygon2, Misdreavus, and Raikou, it also includes three more of the Unown introduced in Neo Discovery. Its symbol is a representation of the departure of Suicune, Entei, and Raikou from the burned tower. In a way, this makes it a counterpart to the Fossil set, which rounded out the original set of 151 pokémon. Neo Destiny - The fourth and final expansion in the "Neo" series of cards featuring pokémon that are content with themselves in a serene environment, due to the caring nature of their trainers. This set is the second set with an emphasis on dark pokémon, though unlike its predecessor, Team Rocket, these dark pokémon don't seem to have any influences. In this set and only this set, they are counterbalanced by light pokémon. Whereas dark pokémon have low hit points and do a lot of damage, light pokémon have high hit points and have attacks and other abilities that revolve around support, such as healing damage. This set almost completes the Unown alphabet started in Neo Discovery: R was left out, but was eventually given a card in another set years later, and J was also left out, being a promotional card. Its symbol is a blue sparkle above a white sparkle, possibly referring to the dark and light pokémon within this set. Southern Islands - A special 18-card promotional mini-set that comes in a specially-packaged binder, rather than as booster packs, and includes a couple boosters from other pokémon sets. When arranged in the correct way, every illustration used in this set forms a single larger image. This set's symbol is a palm tree. Legendary Collection - Another reprint set of many cards that consists of a combination of the previous sets from the original Base Set, Jungle, Fossil, and Team Rocket expansion sets. This set introduced reverse holographic cards, which have holographic foiling on the rest of the card and a starburst refraction pattern, instead of a holographic artwork image. A couple of cards that were previously very rare, such as Dark Raichu and a level 30 telekinesis Mewtwo, are easier to get in the Legendary Collection set. It is basically a "Base Set 3", a sequel to Base Set 2, since the unpopularity of Base Set 2 was the reason why Legendary Collection wasn't called "Base Set 3". Expedition Base Set - The first expansion of pokémon cards with special data encrypted on two sides that are compatible with Nintendo's Game Boy Advance e-reader peripheral and introduces several new game mechanics. By scanning a dot code found on the bottom of all of the different cards and the sides of some cards into the reader, you can unlock various goodies such as displaying patterns, producing sounds, viewing pokédex data about the pokémon, playing a very simple mini-game and each pokémon whose card has been scanned in will play some role in it, watching short cartoons, playing various tunes in a melody box, or activating a special attack for that pokémon. Its symbol is a pokéball drawn to look like a lower-case "e". Aquapolis - The second expansion of cards of the e-card era. The "crystal type" poké-power was written on the Aquapolis cards Kingdra, Lugia, and Nidoking, all of which are holofoil. In addition, there were 4 cards that received 2 versions: Golduck (50a and 50b), Drowzee (74a and 74b), Mr. Mime (95a and 95b), and Porygon (103a and 103b). Its symbol is a skyline within a water droplet. Skyridge - The third and final expansion of cards of the e-card era and also the last set to be released by Wizards Of The Coast before before they lost their license. The Skyridge set was also the second and last set to contain pokémon with the "crystal type" poké-power, and the characters in this set to use it were Celebi, Charizard, Crobat, Golem, Ho-oh, and Kabutops. Its symbol is a pair of mountains with a halo around the taller one. EX Ruby & Sapphire - The first expansion of cards of the EX series era, it introduced the third-generation pokémon from Hoenn into the card game, new game mechanics, a new card design, and continues to be scannable by the e-Reader. However, unlike the cards in Expedition, Aquapolis, and Skyridge, the dot codes on the left side of the card are gone, and replaced with a single dot code on the bottom, that produces only where to find the pokémon in the video games, instead of completely original pokédex information. It was also the first expansion to be produced by Nintendo after transferring the license from Wizards Of The Coast. Its symbol is a jewel with a brilliant cut, viewed from above. EX Sandstorm - The first expansion to feature evolved pokémon-ex and introduce dual weaknesses and resistances to correlate with multiple strengths and vulnerabilities of pokémon. EX Sandstorm also continues to introduce third-generation pokémon into the card game, with many desert-themed pokémon, such as Cacnea and Vibrava, and thereof unrelated pokémon, such as Zangoose and Sableye. This set brings back the mysterious fossil from the Fossil set and expands on it with the claw fossil, which can be made into Anorith, and the root fossil, which can be made into Lileep. Its symbol is a pair of fossils: the claw fossil and the root fossil from the video games Pokémon Ruby and Sapphire. EX Dragon - The first expansion to feature cards with colorless as a weakness or resistance to accommodate the influx of dragon pokémon introduced in Hoenn. Many of the pokémon in EX Dragon made their debut in the set: Salamence, Flygon and Altaria are three of the dragon pokémon in the set – others, such as Latios, Latias, Dragonite, and Rayquaza appear as pokémon-ex. This set numbers up to 97 cards, but there are 100 with the 3 secret cards. The set's symbol is a crosshair. EX Team Magma vs. Team Aqua - This set of cards revolves around the theme of the opposing villainous groups Team Magma and Team Aqua, introduces dual-type pokémon, and continues the tradition of a variant pokémon-themed expansion featuring new owner's cards. This set contains 95 cards and was the last set to feature e-Reader compatibility. The set's symbol is a maroon "X" that's slightly slanted, somewhat like a cut or a scar. EX Hidden Legends - This expansion finished the process of bringing all Hoenn pokémon into card form and introduced more dual-type pokémon. The Hidden Legends part refers to Regirock, Regice, and Registeel, legendary pokémon hidden away in stone structures. Jirachi, a legendary pokémon with the power of wishes; and Pokémon 4Ever with the presence of Dark Celebi. In addition to the previously mentioned pokémon, Beldum and its evolution line makes its debut. This set contains 101 different cards. Its symbol is a solid white irregular hexagon/trapezoid with six equally-spaced smaller dots surrounding it. EX Fire Red and Leaf Green - Like its main series game namesake, this set returns to the Kanto region and focuses on first-generation pokémon. The set had some extra cards: 113/112 was a secret oversized and reverse-holographic special Charmander box topper card, 114/112 Articuno ex, Secret ex; 115/112 Moltres ex, Secret ex; and 116/112 Zapdos ex, Secret ex., and there was also a Wartortle pre-release promotional card with a foil "PRE-RELEASE" stamp in the bottom right corner of the card illustration. Its symbol is an emblem of a black pokéball. EX Team Rocket Returns - Team Rocket as a criminal organization – its members, the pokémon it controls, and the techniques it uses for world domination are all part of this set's theme. This was the first set to feature owners' pokémon-ex. All of them belonged to Team Rocket, and they were all dark-types. It has a set of 109 cards. This set introduced star pokémon, which are shiny just like those of the Neo Revelations set, but only one of these pokémon with the star symbol on the card next to the name may be present in a deck. The Returns part is an indication that it's a sequel set to the Team Rocket set released four years earlier. Its symbol is an emblem of Team Rocket, a shield-like shape with a black bold R in the center, to distinguish this set from the former Team Rocket set. EX Deoxys - The set is named after the pokémon Deoxys and also features Rayquaza, both of which were the featured legendary pokémon in the seventh pokémon movie, Pokémon: Destiny Deoxys. While the pokémon in this set have little, if anything, to do with either of these two pokémon, the set's trainer cards feature people and places involved with astronomy in the Pokémon Ruby, Sapphire, and Emerald video games. The set's symbol is a shooting star and it has 107 cards. The secret box topper is Rocket's Raikou ex, and the pre-release card is Manectric. EX Emerald - This set was conceived to tie in with the release of Pokémon Emerald, and it has a set of 106 cards. Nintendo released six 15-card packs, known as quick construction packs – one pack for each type of basic energy. This was the first English set to contain holographic basic energy cards, popularly called Matrix Energy cards because of their design, which replaced the reverse-holographic card in every third pack. The set contains all of the cards found in the Japanese quick construction packs and the Japanese Emerald gift set. In addition, several Japanese promotional cards were included, as well as a few cards which were first released in English. All of these cards have since been released in Japan; many as promotional cards, the rest in Eidolon Forest. Because of this, and the fact that most promos are viewed as "unplayable" in the competitive scene, this set was largely ignored, with exceptions to Medicham ex. Its symbol is a gemstone, presumably an emerald. Before the release of this set, the Japanese producers of the trading card game requested a list of popular cards from English players. Pidgeot, Dark Dragonite, Dark Tyranitar and Dark Ampharos were frequently mentioned, leading to belief this was the inspiration behind the production of the Trainer Card Battle Frontier, which restricts these cards' abilities. This is the only EX series set not to have pokémon star after their debut. The secret box topper is Farfetch'd, and the pre-release card is Grumpig. Gift boxes and theme decks Pokémon Starter Gift Box - The Pokémon starter gift box is a special promotional box set of collectible tradable playing cards (a starter deck, pre-constructed theme deck, and a booster package, plus one 1st edition Machamp card), a special collectible coin with Chansey on it, some damage counters, and a special placemat with deck building tips for helping you play the game. Overgrowth Theme Deck - The Overgrowth theme deck is from Base Set, and predominantly focuses on grass and water type pokémon. The pokémon in this set are: 4× Bulbasaur, 2× Ivysaur, 4× Weedle, 2× Kakuna, 1× Beedrill, 4× Staryu, 3× Starmie, 2× Magikarp, and 1× Gyarados. Blackout Theme Deck - The Blackout theme deck is from Base Set, and predominantly focuses on water and fighting type pokémon. The pokémon in this set are: 3× Sandshrew, 4× Machop, 2× Machoke, 3× Onix, 1× Hitmonchan, 4× Squirtle, 2× Wartortle, 3× Staryu, and 2× Farfetch'd. Hot Water Theme Deck - The Hot Water theme deck is from Base Set 2, and predominantly focuses on fire and water type pokémon. The pokémon in this set are: 3× Charmander, 1× Charmeleon, 2× Magmar, 4× Poliwag, 2× Poliwhirl, 1× Poliwrath, 3× Goldeen, 3× Doduo, and 1× Dodrio. Trivia The advantage of using pokémon cards for learning is that kids may become more interested if a resourceful parent's pokémon-themed educational lessons in foreign language skills properly involve and actively use foreign pokémon cards to teach children the basics of Japanese, English, or German! Or, they might use pokémon cards to calculate battle damage behind the scenes, which greatly improves math skills. Some elementary schools have banned pokémon cards from the playground because kids try to surreptitiously trade them in class, which keeps their attention away from the teacher. Category:Pokemon